Arnold Hoffman & Co., Inc.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 31, 1951

95 N.L.R.B. 907 (N.L.R.B. 1951)

ARNOLD HOFFMAN & CO., INCORPORATED 907
All mechanics, helpers, apprentices, utility men, storekeepers, greas-
ers, firemen, cleaners, and other employees performing maintenance
work for the Employer, including working foremen and supervisory
specialists," but excluding clerical employees, professional employees,
guards, and supervisors.
[Text of Direction of Election omitted from publication in this
volume.]
6 The "supervisory specialists" according to the record are the same as working fore-
men, and the parties were in agreement as to their inclusion
ARNOOLD HOFFMAN & CO., INCORPORATED and TEXTILE WORKERS
UNION OF AMERICA, CIO, PETITIONER . Case No. 1-RC-92146. July
31, 1951
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act, a hearing was held before Sidney A. Coven, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are free
from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.,
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2. The labor organizations involved claim to represent certain em-
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
Contentions of the Parties
The Petitioner and the Chemical Workers seek a unit consisting of
all production and maintenance employees excluding certain cate-
gories of employees among whom are salaried and standard paid
employees, laboratory employees, draftsmen and warehousemen and
'Local 526 , International Brotherhood of Teamsters , Chauffeurs , Warehousemen and
Helpers of America, A. F. of L., hereafter called the Teamsters and International Chemical
Workers Union, hereafter called the Chemical Workers , were permitted to intervene upon
the showing of sufficient interest in the proceeding.
95 NLRB No. 85.
908 DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
truck drivers. The Teamsters seeks a warehouse unit comprised of
shipping employees, warehousemen, and. truck drivers, excluding
salaried and standard paid employees. With respect to the Teamsters'
proposed group, the Employer agrees that it is appropriate except
that standard paid and salaried employees should be included. With
respect to the production and maintenance unit, the Employer con
tends that the salaried and standard paid employees, laboratory em-
ployees and draftsmen whom the Petitioner and the Chemical Workers
would exclude, should be included therein. The Employer further
contends that if the proposed Teamsters unit- is found to be inappro-
priate, the employees there sought should be included in the produc-
tion and maintenance unit.
The Proposed Teamsters Unit
The` Teamsters seeks to represent a warehouse unit composed of
all shipping employees, warehousemen, and truck drivers, excluding
all salaried and standard paid employees, administrative, office and
clerical employees, guards, professional employees and supervisors
as defined in the.Act. As noted above, the Employer agrees with the
Teamsters that this unit is-appropriate except as to the exclusion of
salaried and standard paid employees.
In a previous representation -proceeding, the Teamsters sought a
unit similar to the one it here requests.2 In its decision, the Board
noted inter alia that other employees frequently assist warehouse
employees; that all employees in the warehouse receive the same
company benefits and are covered by • the same over-all personnel
policy with regard to wages, hours, and other conditions of employ-
ment as are the employees in other departments of the plant; that
none of the warehouse employees is skilled; and that the duties of
the warehouse employees not only do not require any particular train-
ing or aptitude, but also do not differ to any, substantial degree from
the duties of various other production and maintenance employees.
Upon such facts in the earlier case, the Board rejected the Teamsters'
requested unit and dismissed its petition.
As the parties stipulated that there has been no substantial change
in the Employer's operations since our previous decision, we perceive
no reason to reverse that decision. Accordingly, we find that the unit
sought by the Teamsters is inappropriate,3 and that these employees
properly belong in the production and maintenance unit. However,
we shall accord the Teamsters a place. on the ballot for the production
and maintenance group.
2 91 NLRB 1371.
The unit sought includes one truck driver. Although the Board has frequently found
a unit of truck drivers appropriate, it has held that a unit comprising a single employee
is inappropriate . Arnold Hoffman and Co ., Incorporated, supra.
ARNOLD HOFFMAN & CO., INCORPORATED 909
The Production and Maintenance Unit
There is disagreement among the parties as to the inclusion of the
salaried and standard paid employees, laboratory employees, and
draftsmen in the production and maintenance unit. The Petitioner
and Chemical Workers contend that they should be excluded. while
the Employer contends that they should be included.
Salaried and standard paid employees: There are 16 salaried and
5 standard 4 paid employees who are assigned to various departments.
The Petitioner and the Chemical Workers would exclude those em-
ployees as supervisors. Standard paid employees are paid an hourly
rate but are guaranteed 40 hours of work per week, whereas the sal-
aried employees are paid by the week. For practical purposes, how-
ever, there is no difference between the two groups of employees;
hence, for convenience, both groups hereafter will be referred to
as salaried employees.
These salaried employees do not have the right to transfer, suspend,
lay off, recall, promote, reward, discipline, hire, or discharge em-
ployees, or to adjust their grievances; nor do they have the right
effectively to recommend such action with respect to any employees.
Although the salaried employees may assist or direct employees, the
record indicates that this is a purely routine and clerical function and
does not involve the exercise of independent judgment. On the other
hand, salaried employees regularly perform the same type of operation
as the men who work in their respective departments; like other em-
ployees they punch time clocks; and they have the same workweek,
paid holidays, vacation plan, job rules and regulations, life insurance,
accident and health benefits, and hospital and surgical plan benefits
as do other employees.
Although these salaried employees are paid on a weekly basis while
the other employees in the proposed production and maintenance unit
are paid on an hourly basis, it is well established that in determining
the appropriateness of a unit,•theBoard will not distinguish between
employees solely on the basis of different modes of payment.6
Upon the foregoing facts, we find that the salaried employees are
not supervisors within the meaning of the Act. Accordingly, we shall
include salaried employees in the production and maintenance unit .6
Dye laboratory employees: The Petitioner and the Chemical Work-
ers would exclude the dye laboratory employees arguing in effect that
the interests.of these employees are substantially different than those
of the other employees. There are 31 dye laboratory employees, ex-
* There are in addition 4 draftsmen and 27 employees in the dye laboratory who are
standard paid. The question of their inclusion in the production and maintenance unit.
will be discussed separately hereinafter.
Standard Oti Company, 77 NLRB 504.
" George Ehienberger and Company, Inc., 77 NLRB 701.
910 DECISIONS. OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
elusive of supervisors;. they are broken down as follows : 1 senior tech-
nician, 11 laboratory technicians, 15 laboratory helpers, 2 laborers, and
2 dishwashers.
A chemist who supervises all technicians writes out specific instruc-
tions for the experiments to be performed and it is the duty of the
technicians to carry out these experiments. The technicians do not
exercise intellectual discretion in performing their functions. Their
-job is one-of merely following instructions and does not 'require any
formal education beyond high school." The laboratory helpers secure
materials for use by the technicians, and: they perform other routine
tasks upon request by the technicians. The laborers clean the labora-
tory, and the dishwashers, as the title implies, wash dishes in the
department.
There is a transfer of employees from other departments to the dye
laboratory. Although all of the laboratory employees (except the
dishwashers and laborers) are paid on a salary basis, rather than on
an hourly basis, they have the same workweek, the same plan for
wage increases, the same overtime rate, the same paid holidays and
payment plan, and the-same vacation plan zas -do the-hourly- paid- em-
ployees.. In addition they are subject to the same rules and regula-
tions, are participants in the same life insurance, accident, and health
plans, and are on the same payroll as are hourly paid employees.
Under these circumstances we believe that-the interests of the dye.
laboratory employees are substantially the same as those of the em-
ployees in the proposed production and maintenance unit. Accord-
ingly, we shall include them in the production and maintenance unit.?
The draftsmen: The draftsmen transfer on to paper drawings which
are prepared by. the designers, and make tracings of plant layouts,
equipment, and area. The ideas and designs given them are complete
and their job is one of transcribing a hand-drawn idea into a mechan-
ically drawn idea. They are paid on a salary basis.
While we do not agree with the contention that these :draftsmen are
professional employees, we find that they--are technical employees.8
Accordingly, they will be excluded from the production and mainte-
nance group.9
We find that all production and maintenance employees of the Em-
ployer at its Dighton, Massachusetts, plant, including salaried and
standard paid employees, dye laboratory employees, truck drivers,
shipping and warehouse employees, but excluding draftsmen, admin-
istrative, office and clerical employees, guards, professional employees;
7 Commercial Solvents Corporation, 80 NLRB 277; see Great Lakes Pipe Line Company,
88 NLRB 1370.
8 The Ohio Steel Foundry company, 92 NLRB 683; Chicago Railway Equipment Com-
pany, 85 NLRB 586; Republic Steel Corporation, 94 NLRB 1294.
9 S. B. Whistler and Sons, Inc., 92 NLRB No. 197.
AMERICAN ENKA CORPORATION '(LOWLAND` PLANT) 911
and supervisors as defined in the Act constitute a unit appropriate for
purposes of collective bargaining, within the meaning of Section 9
(b) of the Act.
[Text. of Direction--of Election omitted from, publication .in- this
volume.]
AMERICAN ENKA CORPORATION (LOWLAND PLANT) and UNITED TEx-
TILE WORKERS AF AMERICA, AFL, PETITIONER . Case No. 10-RC-955.
August 1,1951
Decision and Direction of Election
Upon a petition duly 'filed under Section 9 (c) of the National Labor
Relations Act,,a=hearing was held before Jerold B. Sindler, hearing
officer. The hearing officer's iulings.mi a at the hearing are free. from
prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the Act, the Board
has delegated its powers in connection with this case to a three-member
panel [Chairman Herzog and Members Reynolds and Murdock].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board finds :
1. The Employer, is engaged in commerce within the meaning of
the Act.
2.' The labor organization involved claiins to represent certain em
ployees of the Employer.
3. A question affecting commerce exists concerning. the representa-
tion of employees of the Employer within the meaning of Section 9
(c) (1) and Section 2 (6) and (7) of the Act.
4. The appropriate unit :
The Petitioner and the Employer agree that the appropriate unit
should include- all..- hourly paid' employees of the Employer at its Low-
land, Tennessee, plant, but excludin7g all office and clerical employees
(including those in the employment, hospital, protection, payroll, ac-
counting, purchasing, standards, filing, industrial relations, records,
plant manager's and chief chemist's offices and chemical laboratory,
engineering and telephone departments), and excluding, further, pro-
fessional employees (including inspectors and technicians), part-time
or summer employees, guards, and supervisors as defined in the Act.'
The Petitioner would include, whereas the Employer would exclude,
the employees in the: textile laboratory. Furthermore the Petitioner
1 This unit is substantially the one found appropriate by the Board in an earlier decision
involving this plant , American Enka Corporation, (Lowland Plant ), 80 NLRB 298. The
Petitioner also sought to exclude specifically "temporary construction employees" and
"instructors ." It was brought out at the hearing that there are no employees presently
employed in these classifications.
95 NLRB 108.